Website Tracking: How and Why Websites Track

Running a website without tracking user behaviour is like navigating without a map—you won’t know where visitors are coming from, what they engage with, or why they leave. Website tracking provides valuable insights that help businesses optimize user experience, boost conversions, and refine marketing efforts. However, with increasing privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA, tracking must be done legally and ethically.

In this article, we will delve into the world of website tracking and explore how it becomes your guiding star on the vast digital landscape. We will also discuss the best practices for tracking users without breaking the law.

Website tracking is the process of collecting and analyzing data about how people behave when they visit a website. It’s a crucial tool for any website owner. It allows you to identify everything from the number of visitors that come to your site, where they came from, how long they stay, and how they interact with the site while they’re there. It helps you determine what you’re doing right, what needs improvement, and what needs to change on your site.

There are two kinds of web tracking: first-party and third-party. First-party tracking involves collecting information about website visitors directly on the website itself. This includes data such as IP addresses, page visits, and user behavior. Third-party tracking, on the other hand, occurs when an external site or service tracks user activity across multiple websites. This type of tracking is often used by advertisers and marketers to gather data on user behavior and interests to target ads more effectively.

There are more than 5 billion active internet users in the world. The rise of big data and analytics has created a lot of reasons why websites track users. Many websites do it to improve their products, services, performance, usability, and security. Websites can monitor user activity to understand their visitors and the impressions their sites make.

Tracking provides essential business insights, including:

1. Understanding user behaviour: Identify where users drop off, which pages they spend the most time on, and how they navigate through a website.
2. Personalisation: Deliver tailored content, product recommendations, and targeted messaging based on user activity.
3. Marketing optimisation: Measure the effectiveness of digital campaigns, paid ads, and email marketing efforts.
4. Conversion tracking: Identify what drives sign-ups, purchases, and engagement to improve the sales funnel.
5. Fraud detection and security: Monitor abnormal behaviour, prevent spam, and protect against fraudulent activity.

Websites track you in a bunch of different ways, including mouse tracking, eye tracking, click tracking, etc. Let’s look at the most common methods of website tracking:

Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on a user’s browser that track and store information about their activity. They can:

• Remember login credentials, cart items, and user preferences.
• Track browsing behaviour across multiple sessions.
• Enable websites to serve personalized ads based on past interactions.

Types of cookies:

• Session Cookies – Temporary cookies that disappear when a user closes their browser.
• Persistent Cookies – Remain on a device until manually deleted or they expire.
• First-Party Cookies – Set by the website the user is visiting.
• Third-Party Cookies – Set by external domains for tracking across multiple websites.

Around 40% of websites on the web use cookies one way or the other. 

IP Tracking

An IP address is a unique number that identifies users’ devices online. Every device that connects to the internet has an IP address, which can provide insights into a user’s location. Websites use IP tracking to:

• Monitor potential security threats or fraud.
• Determine where users are geographically located.
• Customize content based on regional preferences.

Fingerprinting

Browser fingerprinting is a sophisticated method of tracking that doesn’t rely on cookies. Instead, it collects unique device attributes such as:

• Time zone and language settings
• Operating system and browser type
• Screen resolution
• Installed fonts and extensions

Websites use fingerprinting to identify returning users even when cookies are blocked.

Tracking pixels

Tracking pixels (also called web beacons) are invisible 1×1 images embedded in web pages or emails that load when a user visits a site or opens an email. They help:

• Track email opens and interactions.
• Measure ad impressions and clicks.
• Enable retargeting campaigns (e.g., Facebook Pixel).

Session recording & heatmaps

Websites analyze user behavior in real-time using:

• Session Recording: Captures a user’s on-screen interactions to analyze clicks, scroll depth, and mouse movements.
• Heatmaps: Visually represent where users interact most on a webpage.

These tools, provided by Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, and Crazy Egg, help businesses optimize UI/UX design and improve website performance.

Behavioural tracking via AI and machine learning

Many advanced websites utilize AI-powered tracking methods to:

• Predict user behaviour and recommend personalized content.
• Analyze engagement patterns to refine marketing campaigns.
• Detect anomalies that might indicate fraudulent activity.

Social media and cross-device tracking

Websites track users across devices and platforms using:

• Cross-device tracking: Links user activity from mobile to desktop.
• Social media tracking: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter track interactions via embedded social buttons.
• Ad networks: Google and Meta track users across different websites for targeted advertising.

Cross-site tracking is a technical term that refers to the tracking of a user’s activity across multiple websites or domains. It is often used for marketing purposes, to analyze and improve the customer experience, and in some cases, for fraud detection.

Cross-site tracking can be achieved by placing a small piece of code on a site, which is then used to track the activity of users who visit other websites. The main purpose of cross-site tracking is to determine which products or services are of interest to users visiting another website. This allows marketers and webmasters to improve the customer experience on their sites by using data from visits to other sites to deliver targeted advertising and relevant content. This process is referred to as remarketing.

For example, this is how cookies retarget visitors:

Global privacy laws regulate how businesses can collect, store, and process user data. Compliance is crucial to avoid legal penalties and maintain user trust. Here are a few of the laws that regulate website tracking:

GDPR and website tracking

The GDPR applies to businesses that collect or process data from users within the European Union (EU).

Key requirements:

• Explicit consent: websites must obtain clear, informed, and affirmative consent from users before tracking.
• Right to withdraw: users must be able to opt out of tracking at any time.
• Transparency: websites must disclose what data they collect, why, and how it’s used.
• Data minimisation: only necessary data should be collected.
• Penalties: non-compliance can result in fines up to €20 million or 4% of global revenue, whichever is higher.

CCPA and website tracking

The CCPA, amended by the CPRA, protects the privacy rights of California residents.

Key requirements:

• Right to know: users can request details on what personal data is collected.
• Right to delete: users can ask businesses to delete their personal data.
• Right to opt-out: users must be given the ability to opt out of the sale or sharing of their data.
• Do not sell or share my personal information: websites must provide a prominent link for users to opt out.
• Global Privacy Control (GPC): websites must honor opt-out signals sent by browsers.
• Penalties: fines for non-compliance can range from $2,500 to $7,500 per violation.

3. LGPD (Brazil) and website tracking

Brazil’s LGPD is similar to GDPR but applies to businesses that process data of Brazilian citizens.

Key requirements:

• User consent: explicit permission is required for data collection.
• Transparency: users must be informed about data usage.
• Legal basis for processing: businesses must have a valid reason to collect user data.
• Penalties: fines can reach 2% of a company’s revenue, up to 50 million Brazilian Reais per violation.

All the laws regulating how websites track users do not mean a full stop on track. It means that you should make an extra effort to make it privacy-friendly and put users first. 

Here are some popular website tracking tools used by many websites:

Google Analytics

It is a free, comprehensive web analytics service offered by Google. It tracks and reports on various aspects of website traffic, including page views, session duration, and sources of traffic. In addition, it offers a range of features such as demographic and conversion reports and integration with other Google tools such as AdWords. Google Analytics can be used to analyze various types of websites, including online stores, blogs, and social media platforms.

Hotjar

It is a tool that helps businesses understand how their website is being used using heat maps, visitor recordings, and feedback forms. Heat maps show where users are clicking/taking action on a page, helping you to identify which areas are most popular. Visitor recordings allow you to see exactly what users are doing on their websites, including where they are clicking and how they are interacting with various elements of the page. Feedback forms enable websites to collect feedback directly from users.

Mixpanel

It is a tool that provides real-time tracking and analysis of your product, including the ability to track events, funnel, conversions, engagement, and user profiles on the website or mobile applications.

Clarity

It is a tool from Microsoft that helps businesses understand how users interact with their websites through heat maps and visitor recordings. It offers user testing to see how users interact with websites in real time and gather feedback on their experiences.

Adobe Analytics

It is a web analytics tool that provides detailed insights into website traffic and user behavior. It also integrates with Adobe Experience Platform, which can be used to create personalized experiences for users and perform A/B tests.

How to stop website tracking? 

If you are a website user, there are many reasons why you might want to stop website tracking. The most common of these is to reduce the amount of personally identifiable information that websites can gather about you. Whatever your reason for wanting to stop website tracking, there are many ways to do it. Some of them take time and effort on your part, but others require almost no effort at all. Keep in mind not all of them are foolproof methods.